After tough start, Miami Hurricanes’ Alex Uribe getting his kicks

As debuts go, Alex Uribe’s first appearance as UM’s kickoff specialist went about as smoothly as the Titantic’s maiden voyage.
Uribe, who replaced Matt Bosher on kickoffs against Georgia Tech, had his first two kicks sail out of bounds, setting up the Yellow Jackets’ offense at their own 40-yard-line.

According to coach Randy Shannon “nerves got to” Uribe.

“I said, ‘I thought you said you were ready?'” Shannon said of a sideline conversation he had with Uribe. “He said, ‘I’m ready, I’m ready.’ I said, ‘Yeah, look at your eyes.'”

Shannon could see Uribe’s anxiety, but stuck with him. Uribe has repaid Shannon’s faith by turning in solid performances during the past two games against Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.

After averaging a respectable 58.5 yards on two kickoffs in horrible conditions in Blacksburg, Va., Uribe had a 66.2-yard average on four kicks against Oklahoma. His first two kickoffs against the Sooners reached the goal line. His third attempt came from UM’s 15-yard line following a penalty and traveled 72 yards, reaching Oklahoma’s 13. His final kickoff was returned from the 9-yard line. Each of the kicks was angled with good hang time, allowing the Hurricanes’ coverage unit to swarm.

“This last week was a real big statement for us,” said Uribe, the son of former UM team physician Dr. John Uribe. “We put the ball where it needed to be and the coverage team did a great job.”

Before his first kickoff against Georgia Tech, Uribe hadn’t played in a football game since he was a member of the freshman squad at Gulliver Prep in Miami. Uribe was a standout soccer player in high school, but rejected scholarship offers in that sport in order to attend UM.

Uribe walked on for the Hurricanes as a sophomore in 2006 and had a chance to win the kickoff job last season, but was beaten out by Bosher. Uribe decided he was done with football after last season, but reconsidered during the fall and asked Shannon for a chance to return in early August. Shannon agreed but paperwork and compliance issues didn’t allow Uribe to begin practice until just before the season began.

When Bosher, who handles punts and place kicks, suffered through a nightmarish performance on kickoffs in the season opener against Florida State, Shannon pitted Uribe and Jake Wieclaw in a one-week showdown for the job.

Uribe, 6-foot-1 and 171 pounds, won the job. Then came his first two kickoffs against Georgia Tech.

“I was a little two hyped up,” said Uribe, a senior. “I thought I hit them well, but then you pick your head up and realize the ball is 8 yards out of bounds. But the defense really responded. I put them at the 40 and we gave up a field goal out of those two possessions. The defense had my back.”

Uribe, whose personal coach is former UM kicker Francesco Zampogna, has settled down since then and allowed Bosher to concentrate on his other duties.

“It’s been huge,” Shannon said of Uribe’s contributions. “It takes a lot of pressure off of Bosher. We felt this year we had to find somebody to take the pressure off of him because he’s too valuable for us as far as being a field-goal kicker and a punter.”

For Uribe, it’s like living a dream. He was a big UM fan as kid, tagging along with his father to games and national championships.

“I’ve been to every national championship game we’ve been in since 1987,” Uribe said Wednesday. “Since I was knee-high, I’ve been on the sidelines. I lived at the Hecht [Athletic Center].”

A couple other notes:

….Defensive tackle Marcus Forston’s struggles (0 tackles in 3 games) have been offset somewhat by the play of Pahokee’s Micanor Regis, according to Shannon. Against Oklahoma, Shannon said that Regis “played a good game. He was knocking people back, he was getting off the block. He was playing his technique solid. He stepped up in the middle. I’m really excited about that.” The 6-3, 300-pound sophomore saw action in approximately 30 plays against the Sooners and is expected to receive at least that many snaps this week against Florida A&M. Shannon said that Regis, who has two tackles for losses and a half-sack, is a stout run defender who needs to improve his pass rush. “He’s got to keep developing that,” Shannon said. “He’s still young. But he’s a young guy doing a good job.”

…..Back-up quarterback A.J. Highsmith said he’s itching to get in a game.”I want to get in the game and show what I can do and show everybody on the team what I can do,” said Highsmith, who has done nothing but watch during UM’s first four games. “Hopefully it will be a good situation. I just want to have a lot of fun and get on the field.” Shannon said Tuesday that he wants to get Highsmith into a game where he does more than just hand off. Saturday’s game against Florida A&M would seem like a good possibility to get Highsmith some work, but the freshman quarterback said he’s not counting on it. “All I know is that practice is guaranteed every day, so I try to come out here and get better and I will handle that when it comes,” Highsmith said.